I am a college student, and I have been suffering from depression for the past several years. Last summer, I got counseling and my psychiatrist prescribed Cymbalta for me, and I have been on it at 60mg/day ever since. Cymbalta seemed to regulate my mood and helped me feel better during the time I was on it.
However, three days ago I got terribly sick (the flu passes around easily in college dorms) and while I was ill I forgot to take my Cymbalta since I was taking an OTC med for the flu. I forgot to take my Cymbalta for 3 days total, today is the fourth day. I have terrible hot flashes, and it literally feels like I am burning up at times. I am writing this in my dorm room wearing only boxer shorts and I am sweating as if I am in a sauna. I have a headache and feel light-headed constantly, I cannot concentrate on anything. I sometimes feel like I am floating and have the most dreadful swings of emotion from extreme panic to irritability. Even sleep is not a reprieve because I have terrible vivid nightmares and it does not feel restful at all.
I at first attributed all these things to the flu, and I thought it must have been a terrible new type of flu. Then I remembered I had forgotten to take cymbalta, and started to take it again. I then looked online for symptoms of cymbalta withdrawl and I found this website. Has anyone had an experience similar to this before? How long will it be until I can feel normal again now that I have started to take my proper dose again? Is there anyway I can minimize these symptoms? I have missed almost a week worth of class because of the flu, and now with the symptoms of withdraw I cannot even pull myself together to do the work I have missed. The thought of going to class again terrifies me because I am just not up to it. I just want to feel normal again, any comments or help or would be much appreciated.
I wish I had never been put on this medicine, being depressed is better than feeling like this. I was never suicidal before taking it, just severely depressed, but with the withdrawal I almost wish I were dead rather than to go through this (no i am not suicidal I am just saying I would rather be dead than experience this living hell)
Hi, you should start to feel better quite quickly - in a matter of days, and most people find improvement from the first day of taking Cymbalta again. When you're much better, and want to consider stopping Cymbalta, keep in mind that you, like many who come to this site, are going to be one of the ones who has to taper very slowly.
Doctors and chemists are given misinformation by the drug companies as to how difficult it is to get off some of these anti depressants, so check back here with what you're told to do. It could take months tapering down slowly to get off 60mg. I spent 10 weeks getting off 20mg.
Many find taking prozac during the withdrawal period helps significantly, and prozac is then easier to get off than Cymbalta.
regards, Maureen.